Mount Pearl, the second-largest city and fourth-largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, is nestled on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. Located southwest of St. John's, Mount Pearl forms part of the St. John's metropolitan area, the 20th largest metropolitan area in Canada.
The history of Mount Pearl dates back to 1829 when Commander James Pearl and his wife, Lady Anne Pearl, arrived in Newfoundland. They were granted one thousand acres of land by the Crown as a reward for Commander Pearl's 27 years of distinguished service in the Royal Navy. In 1830, Commander Pearl built a house on the most elevated section of his estate, initially naming it Mount Cochrane in honour of then-governor Sir Thomas Cochrane. After the governor's departure, the site was renamed Mount Pearl.
Commander Pearl, who was made a Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order of Hanover and received the honour of Knight Bachelor from Queen Victoria, died suddenly at his Mount Pearl estate in 1840. His wife, Lady Anne, moved to London, England in 1844. The Pearl estate was then leased to John Lester, who had come from Devonshire, England to work for James Pearl. Lester continued working the Pearl Estate for another 14 years.
In her will, Lady Anne left John Lester 100 acres of land called "Anna Vale", which he later sold. The Pearl estate eventually came into the hands of Andrew Glendinning, who worked it as successful farmland well into the 1920s. John Lester purchased other land from Edward Dunscomb and later inherited another 50 acres on Old Placentia Road from Pearl's sister, Eunice Blamey. John Lester died in 1893 leaving his estate, called "FairMead", to sons Ashton and James. Fairmead is the site of Lester's Market today.
In the 1930s and 1940s, Mount Pearl became a meeting place for affluent members of society and horseracing enthusiasts. A large open-air gallery was erected on "The Mount" in the 1940s, providing benches for spectators to view surrounding lands. Horseracing continued to be prominent, and Mount Pearl began to develop into a summer resort for St. John's residents. This led to an increased population year-round and eventual residential and industrial development.
With the population growing quickly, there was increased demand for municipal government. As a result, Mount Pearl held its first election in 1955, which resulted in Hayward Burrage becoming the first mayor of the Town of Mount Pearl. The town was incorporated on January 11, 1955, and had a population of 1,979. On July 21, 1988, the Town of Mount Pearl became the third community in Newfoundland and Labrador to be granted city status. Today, it remains one of the largest cities within the province, with a population in 2021 of 22,477.
Mount Pearl is located in the northeastern region of the Avalon Peninsula in southeast Newfoundland. It is landlocked, being about midway between the Atlantic Ocean coast to the east and Conception Bay to the west. The city is bounded on the north, south, and east by the city of St. John's and on the west by the town of Paradise. This has led to limited availability of undeveloped land, forcing the city to adopt a more urban, high-density planning structure.
Mount Pearl experiences a humid continental climate (Dfb) with short, mild summers and long, cold winters.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Mount Pearl had a population of 22,477 living in 9,931 of its 10,685 total private dwellings, a change of -2.8% from its 2016 population of 23,120. With a land area of 15.65 km2, it had a population density of 1,436.2/km2 in 2021. In 2016, Mount Pearl was 92.7% White, 5.6% Aboriginal, and 1.7% other. The median age was 44.5 in 2016 and 41.6 in 2011. The median income was $78,232 before taxes in 2016, with a median income of $67,055 after taxes in 2016.
